


make them stop

by niccals



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, Hallucinations, Schizophrenia, i also wrote this fic in under an hour so feel free to make fun of my grammatical errors, this is kinda based on episode 2 of don't call me crazy (the rat thing)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 19:30:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18581107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niccals/pseuds/niccals
Summary: Alex's schizophrenia flares up while over at Will's, who panics and calls James.





	make them stop

Will had invited Alex round his to film a video for his second channel, as it was getting a bit dry. Alex had agreed and took a bit longer than usual to make his way over to Will’s flat, but he was there in under twenty minutes anyways.

The first thing Will noticed when Alex walked through his door was a distant, almost lost, look in his eyes. Alex didn’t say anything, just nodded when Will greeted him. Will took Alex back into his bedroom and set up his camera to get ready to film, turning on his monitors and double checking with Alex that he was ready.

Recording went smoothly. Albeit, Alex was a bit quieter than usual but Will paid it no mind. Will never missed how Alex would just stop in the middle of a sentence a few times, or how he would randomly look over to the corner of the room behind him. Will had to tap his shoulder to get his attention a few times, which Alex always just dazedly looked back over at him and nodded when Will asked if he was feeling alright.

At one point Alex asked Will if he heard muffled voices from below them as well. That worried Will a bit, but he assumed that’s just what he’s going to have to deal with if he wants to stay friends with someone who has schizophrenia.

“Do you hear talking from the flat below us?” Alex had asked, looking back up from the carpet to look at Will, interrupting him in the middle of his sentence.

“No, mate. You alright? We can finish recording later if you don’t feel well.” Will offered. Alex paused for a moment before shaking his head.

“I’m fine.” He nodded, and unpaused the video they were watching as if nothing happened.

When, after finally finishing the video after rerecording bits and regaining Alex’s attention, Alex had shot up out of his chair and sat against a wall on the opposite side of the room. Will tentatively made his way over to Alex, squatting down beside him. It seemed as though Alex was focused on something in the opposite corner of Will’s room.

“You alright, mate?” Will asked, glancing at Alex, who kept his focus intent on the corner.

“Fucking rats.” Alex mumbled. Will’s heart skipped a beat. _Had he heard something about Alex and rats before? Must’ve been something James told him_. Will searched for an answer. _Weren't the rats one of his hallucinations?_

“Alex.” Will put a hand on Alex’s shoulder, causing him to flinch and look over at Will, glancing down at the hand on his shoulder before quickly back over to the corner. _He seems distressed_ , Will noted.

“Oh fuck.” Alex gasped out, eyes flickering wildly around the room, before landing on a random patch of carpet an arms length away. Alex stared at it for a moment, before letting out a screech, which scared Will half to death.

Alex shuffled backwards on the carpet, back shoving against Will who was attempting to get out of his way. Alex continued moving backwards until he’d backed himself up into another corner. His eyes were wide and focused on something in front of him, and the poor thing looked absolutely terrified out of his mind.

“Alex?” Will called out again, though not expecting an answer.

“Stop- STOP! STOP IT!” Alex screamed, legs kicking outwards at nothing but air. Will wasn’t prepared for this, in fact, he’d never been in this situation before despite how long he’d been friends with Alex. It was usually just a little question like earlier, asking if Will heard something as well or just muttering under his breath, even the occasional repeated glance at a singular area. Nothing like this had ever happened in Will’s presence and it was kind of freaking him the fuck out.

Will had only a very loose grasp of what was going on. This was some form of hallucination that was really scaring Alex; a flare up of his schizophrenia. Will promised himself, in that moment, that he’d actually do his research on this kind of thing.

At some point Alex had stopped his continuous screaming. When Will came to his senses, and realised that he should probably call James to help Alex, the boy was curled up with his knees to his chin, still scaredly glancing up at whatever it was that he was seeing, except now he had begun mumbling something under his breath and vehemently scratching at his arm. Will didn’t want to get close to him because, as much as he hated to admit it, seeing Alex like this scared him as well.

The stigma around people with mental disorders like Alex painted it out to be a dangerous disease that makes people go on murderous rampages and lash out at anyone or anything nearby. Will had distinguished Alex from those kinds of people over time, coming to accept that Alex was just Alex, even if he did have this illness, and that, no, Alex wasn’t a murderer.

James didn’t pick up at first, which made Will freak out a little bit, but he called him again. That time he picked up.

“H-” James began, but Will cut him off.

“I think Alex is having a- uh- thing with the schizophrenia? I don’t know, he said somethin’ about rats ‘nd freaked out from there.” Will managed to explain to James.

“You’re at your flat, right?” James asked.

“Yeah.”

“On my way now. What’s he doing now?” James asked, voice a tad muffled by the shuffling on the other line. Will looked over at Alex who was still curled up in the corner, fear painting his features still while he glanced quickly between a patch of carpet and the fingernails digging into his wrist.

“Uh- I don’t- he’s looking at something, don’t know what, and he’s scratching at his arm.” Will told James, resisting the urge to call out to Alex, but he didn’t want to do anything to worsen the situation.

“If it gets worse ring me back, yeah? I’ll be there in five.” James hung up after that. True to his word, he let himself into the flat and made his way into Will’s bedroom. Alex was still in the same condition as he had been for the past ten minutes or so.

“Does this just… happen?” Will questioned awkwardly, but in a state of nervousness.

“Yeah, sometimes. He’ll be fine.” James gave Will a reassuring pat on the back before slowly approaching Alex.

Alex didn’t look up when James squatted in front of him. In fact, he didn’t even look up when James called his name. Though, when James put his hand gently in front of Alex’s face, the boy’s head snapped up, staring at James with first a look of panic that was quickly washed off with relief.

“James!” Alex sighed out in relief. James smiled back at Alex.

“It’s me, yeah. Can you focus on me?” James held eye contact with Alex, even though Alex kept glancing beside James on the floor.

“You’re really close to it.” Alex warned.

“Close to what?” James asked.

“Rat, orange.” Alex said it in a way that he was annoyed that James didn’t already recognise the supposed ‘rat’ that was close to him.

“Where is it?” James raised an eyebrow.

“Beside you.” Alex whispered, glancing to the left side of James on the floor, and then back up at James. James reached a hand out towards his left side.

“Tell me when I’m close.” James instructed, continuing to wave his hand around in the general area of the ‘orange rat’.

“STOP! You’re going to touch it!” Alex screamed, frightening James so much he flinched his hand a way a little.

“I can’t touch it, Alex, it’s not real. Okay, yeah? Not real.” James reminded Alex. Alex squinted his eyes at James.

“He says he will peel your skin off in rows.” Alex almost-whispers, looking up at James in fear.

“Ah, as terrifying as that is, I don't think he can. He isn’t real. The rat isn’t real. Here, watch.” James smacked the floor where he assumed Alex was seeing the rat. Alex squealed and looked away but turned his head, slowly to face James again. He didn’t say anything for a moment, just staring blankly at where James’ hand rested against the carpet.

Alex looked back up at James, confusion in his eyes, but seemingly more connected to reality now.

“It’s gone.” Alex stated blankly, making eye contact with James now, and seeing Will walk over to them.

“You okay now?” Will asked, crouching beside James.

“I think.” Alex responded. “You know you don’t have to be scared of me.” Alex looked at Will, and Will just looked guiltily back at him.

“Sorry, mate, was just a bit scared, I will admit.” Will lightly chuckled.

“Can I see your arm?” James asked, remembering how Alex had been clawing at his wrist moments prior. Alex hesitantly stuck out his arm and James gently wrapped his hands around his wrist and elbow, holding out the inside of his wrist and inspecting the damage. Will hissed at the sight and James just frowned. It did look painful, honestly. Alex must have scratched off way more than a few layers of skin, as it was bloody and looking more like someone ripped the skin off with a piece of million degree leather. “Why have you done that then?” James questioned, looking over the rest of his arm to see if he’d done it anywhere else. He hadn’t.

“No, not me, I didn’t do that. I wouldn’t do that. Orange rat was doing it.” Alex explained. That answer did scare Will a bit.

“Next time tell orange rat to fuck off or I’ll spark him out.” Will hissed. James looked at him, trying to look at his seriously but was obviously holding back a laugh. “Sorry.” Will giggled.

“Hows about we get this cleaned up then, hm?” James suggested. Alex nodded, and helped Alex out with the bandaging on it.

Alex ended up staying over at James’ flat for the rest of the day, seeing as George wasn’t home with Alex in the first place, so it was incredibly unsafe to send him back home. Alex went the rest of his day without any hallucinations, just being distracted by a clean mixture of James and of films. For the first time in weeks, Alex didn’t even have to take anything to help himself go to sleep. He concluded that James’ arms were a helluva lot better substitute than sleeping pills.

**Author's Note:**

> imma start putting the songs for my titles in the little note thing sSO
> 
> title: glowing eyes - twenty one pilots
> 
> very good song (have fun finding it though, ahha fuck warner music)  
> (i got the song downloaded though flex flex flex)  
> (warner you are going to have to pry regional at best from my cold dead hands you sick bastards)


End file.
